Selesky, 51, was defensive coordinator and assistant head coach last season, his sixth with the Gladiators. He is also the director of football operations.

Gladiators quarterback Arvell Nelson said Selesky will have a smooth transition from assistant to head coach.

"He's been doing this for so long and he's always had a head coach mentality," Nelson said. "He ran his defense like a well-oiled machine. He won't have a problem running the whole team in the same way."

On the other hand, Nelson said Thonn will be missed.

"He was a players' coach, it's just unfortunate the organization had to let him go," Nelson said. "Ron will do the job and help bring wins to the city."

Gladiators SVP of Franchise Operations and COO, Mike Ostrowski was quoted on the website. "Ron's passion for the Gladiators and his knowledge and expertise of the AFL game are huge attributes. His vision and strategy of running a football team are very impressive, as are his track record of identifying, recruiting and developing top talent. He's a very structured, detail-oriented coach who will command a very high level of accountability from our team. We're very happy that Ron will be returning to the head coaching ranks with us and we look forward to having him in this lead role."

"I'm honored to be named the head coach of the Cleveland Gladiators," said Selesky in the website story. "I've waited ten years for my next head coaching opportunity and I'm ready to hit the ground running full speed. The Gladiators and the Cavaliers (Family of Companies) are a top notch organization and I'm grateful to be a part of it. We are lucky to have in my view the best fan base and fan support in the AFL and I will do everything in my power to put together the best coaching staff and player roster with our express goal of bringing an ArenaBowl Championship to Cleveland in which all our stakeholders can take pride. I can't wait for this incredible journey to start."

Thonn had a 66-67 overall record in seven seasons, including a 3-4 mark in the playoffs. The team also announced that line coach Mike Smith will not be retained.

"We'd like to thank Steve and Mike for all of their time, effort and contributions over the past seven seasons with the Gladiators," added Ostrowski. "Both Steve and Mike are high-quality people who worked hard in their time here in Cleveland. We wish them both the best of luck in the future."

The Arena Football League currently has five teams -- holdovers Cleveland, the Philadelphia Soul and Tampa Bay Storm, and two newcomers, the Washington Valor, plus an expansion team in Baltimore.